Judge’s Report for the second quarter’s competition 2018 from Nik Morton

Being presented with twenty-five flash fiction short stories can be both daunting and exciting: daunting because I have to select prize-winners, knowing that there will be an abundance of ‘also-rans’ that deserve praise too; exciting because I’m going to meet new, possibly strange people and encounter a variety of situations.

A few comments first, however. This is a 500-word competition and while it’s quite possible to write a vignette or tale in 250 words or so, a writer should be striving to use every word allowed and not skimp on description, character, and emotion. It was interesting to note that twelve of the stories were told in the present tense. Packing character, emotion, description into 500 words is not easy; adding plot makes it doubly difficult. Of course these stories can be vignettes, or a snapshot of a moment in time. The winners have to involve the reader and I felt they did just that.

The stories in the short-list did not disappoint. There were telling phrases aplenty which a magazine sub-editor might use if publishing the story.

It was not easy to select winners. Congratulations to all of them.

1st: Sonny and the Prickly Fish

From the beginning, we’re involved with Winifred and Sonny’s relationship and watch it grow. Simply told and memorable.

2nd: Doing my Best

Another emotional piece, well observed, suggesting to the reader where this is going to lead… but then confounding expectations.

3rd: The Howl

Anniversaries can be celebrated – and they can be a curse. A life – no, two lives, at least – destroyed. Yet the world goes on, but never the same. Haunting.

Highly Commended: Audit in Orange

A bold presentation: e-mail chat between individuals in different offices in an organisation, gossiping about the new auditor… Employing a few (not too many) txt shorthand cues, humour and a highly amusing denouement.

We regularly receive several hundred entries each quarter, so those making the long and short lists should feel very proud.

Short Listed Entries for the Second Quarter 2018— in alphabetical order

An Affair of the Heart by David Stephens

An Odyssey by Alison Woodhouse

Audit in Orange by Taria Karillion

Bodies of Work by Brad Foster

Cookie Crumbs and Library News and Elsie by Douglas Bruton

Curveball by Rod Chadbourne

Daffodils by Anika Morgan

Dare You by Jennifer Riddalls

Doing my Best by Christine Griffin

Dust by Kathy Chamberlain

Free Ride by Bella Reid

His Hands by Douglas Bruton

Mothers' Day by Alison Wassell

Please Wear Bright Colours by Gwenda Major

Pure Speculation by Michael Twist

Ring of Truth by Valerie Purcell

Snow White Must Die by Laura Theis

Sonny and the Prickly Fish by Taria Karillion

The 11th to Dive by Linda Irish

The Day We Met the Unicorn by Gaynor Jones

The Howl by Sally Lane

The Sculptor, the Statue and the Slut by Sharon Boyle

This Time Last Year by Sherri Turner

Typhoon Coming On by Sylvia Fairley

Tyrannosaurus by Adam Lock

Long Listed Entries for the Second Quarter 2018 — in alphabetical order